Deflector device for a revolving wire or the like



c). HAUGWITZ 3,196,601

DEFLECTOR DEVICE FOR A REVOLVING WIRE OR THE LIKE July 27, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 1'7, 1963 m m 0 A Nw Q3 0 5 n mm N 33 w w 3% 3 0 w o J h k v huh,

July 27, 1965 HAUGWITZ 3,196,601 DEFLECTOR DEVICE FOR A REVOLVING WIRE on THE LIKE Filed Sept. 17, 1963 V E 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,196,601 DEFLECTOR DEVICE FOR A REVOLVING WIRE OR THE LIKE Otto Haugwitz, La Celle-Saint Cloud, France, assignor to Societe Anonyme Geoffrey-Delores, Paris, France, a French company Filed Sept. 17, 1963, Ser. No. 309,511 Claims priority, application France, Sept. 17, 1962, 909,617, Patent 1,341,597 11 Claims. (Cl. 57-60) This invention relates to an improved device for deflecting the path of a wire, or similar continuously elongated flexible element, that is simultaneously driven in rotational and longitudinal displacement.

In cable and rope making plants, it is often required to alter the direction of longitudinal displacement of a wire or fibre which is being rotated about its own axis at the same time it is being longitudinally displaced. For example, consider a cable twisting machine including a plurality of draw-ofl units or drums and a common takeup unit or drum around which individual wires or strands from all the draw-01f units are to be taken up in helicallyassembled relation as a single rope or cable. In such a machine, both the draw-off drums and the take-up drum, in addition to revolving around their respective axes for transferring the wires from the former to the latter, must also be rotated in synchronism about respective axes normal to their axes of revolution in order to impart the requisite helical twist to the assembled rope without twisting the several elements themselves. It is usual in such 3,196,601 Patented July 27, 1965 I CC will be made clear from the ensuing description of an exemplary embodiment selected by way of illustration but not of limitation and with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a simplified overhead plan view of a i cable twisting installation in which a plurality of the improved deflector devices of the invention are included;

a machine, for convenience in lay-out and economy of space, to dispose the draw-off units with their axes at an angle, e.g. normal to the'axis of the common take-up unit. But this in turn requires that the path of each wire should be deflected by a corresponding angle between its outlet from the related draw-ofi unit and its input to the take-up unit. There are various other instances in which a similar deflection ofthe path of a wire or fibre being both fed axially and rotated about its axis is needed.

Heretofore, such deflection was'generally effected by means of a pulley provided with a series of paired rollers around its periphery, so as to allow the wire to perform both its axial feed displacement and its rotation in a relatively frictionless and torsion-free manner. However, such conventional deflector devices have not been alto- 'gether satisfactory. The heavy pulley introduced objectionable inertia. It is cumbersome, space-consuming and expensive especially in view of the comparatively small arcuate extent of the pulley that is effectively utilized in many cases where the wire is to be deflected by only a small angle.

Objects of this invention are to provide an improved deflector device of the specified. kind, which will be small in size, inexpensive to make and maintain, largely fixed so as to introduce substantially no inertia, and will perform its desired guiding and deflecting function in an extremely effective manner without imparting torsion to the element passing through it.

Essentially, the improved deflector may comprise a fixed arcuate supporting member corresponding in arcuate extent to the'angle by which the path of the wire (or the i like) is to be deflected, a series of roller supports mounted along the length 'of the arcuate member for pivotal moveangles about their respective radial axes.

The objects, features and advantages of the invention FIGURE 2 is a larger-scale view of one of the improved deflectors;

FIGURE 3 is a section on line IIIIII of FIGURE 2, showing one of the roller supports with the roller thereon;

FIGURE 4 is an overhead view of FIGURE 3 as projected along the pivotal axis of the roller support; and

FIGURE 5 shows a modified form of roller support and roller means usable with the device of FIGURE 2, as it would be seen in section on a radial plane of the deflec: tor device.

Referring to FIGURE 1, there is illustrated a generally conventional cable twisting plant as one example of the context in which the invention is of use. The plant comprises two draw-off frames 1a, 1b and a common take-up frame 4. Each draw-off frame has means for drawing off three individual Wires (or fibres, or strands) therefrom, as shown at 14a and 14b, and the six wires are led simultaneously through a distributor grid 2 and an assembly die 3 to the common take-up unit 4 to be coiled thereon in helically assembled relation as a single rope or cable.

Each of the draw-off frames 1a, 1b is accordingly provided with the three drums 12 mounted for rotation about their own axes in related cradles or frames 11a, 11b, 11c, the latter in turn being rotatable about parallel spaced axes, orthogonal to the axes of rotation of the drums, in the related draw-off frame such as 1b. The take-up frame 4 comprises a large drum 4a mounted for rotation about its own axis in the frame 4, which latter in turn is rotatable about an axis orthogonal to the axis of rotation of the drum 4a. Means are provided for imparting synchronous rotation to both the revolving draw-off frames, such as 11w 11b and 110, and the take-up frame 4, and comprises a motor 6 which through suitableshaft ing and gearing 5 rotates the frame 4 and, through shafts 5a, 5b, synchronously rotates the respective revolving draw-ofl? frames, such as 11a, 11b and 110. Further, the take-up drum 4a is rotated about its own axis in frame 4, through means not shown, for imparting the suitable draft force to the individual wires 14a, 14b and coiling them up around the periphery of drum 4a.

The system thus described is generally conventional so that the brief description just given should suflice. It will be noted that, in'the lay-out shown, the individual wires 14a, 14b issue out of the draw-off frames 1a, 1b axially of the revolving frames such as 11a, 11b, 11c, and that the draw-oh units are so arranged with respect to the take-up unit 4 that the wires 14a, 14b must be deflected about between their points of egress from the d-raw-oflf frames and their point of entryinto the distributor grid 2 ahead of the take-up frame. This permits a more convenient lay-out of the draw off frames, particularly when these are relatively many 1n number, and reduces the requisite floor space. To ach eve the necessary deflection in the 'path of feed of the wires 14a, 14b, there is associated with each wire an improved deflect or device according to the invention, these devices being schematically shown in FIGURE land there designated 13a, 13b. The construction of one such dev ce will now be describedwith reference to the detailed showing in FIGURE 2. A l The deflector device 13 comprises a fixed supporting member 15 in the general form of an arc of a circle, herein .about 90 in angular extent. Any suitable means are provided for fixedly securing support 15 to the related fixed draw-off frame structure such as 112. The member is formed with a plurality of spaced bores therethrough, extending radially of the arcuate member 15, i.e. having their geometrical axes all converging to the common center of curvature of said member. Pivot shafts 16a through .1612 are mounted for free rotation in the respective bores, and the shafts carry at their outer projecting ends related clevis or stirrup members 17a through 1711. Antifriction means may if desired be associated with shafts lea-ion but have not been shown herein.

Across the parallel spaced legs of each clevis 17 is freely pivoted a pin 18 with a roller 19 supported between the legs of the clevis. The rollers are preferably in the form of spools with concave profiles as shown. Alternatively they may be gnooved or flanged. As will also be apparent from the drawings, the legs of each clevis ar slanted so that the pivot 18 of each roller 19 is oifset from the axis of the related pivot shaft 16, in the same general direction as that of the axial displacemerit of the wire 14- through the device, indicated by arrow F. In order to compensate for the unbalanced Weight thus produced around the axis of the pivot 16 of each clevis and roller unit, a counterweight 20 is preferably provided projecting from the inner end of shaft 16 in a direction generally opposite from that in which the legs of the clevis slant.

Means are provided for constraining all of the roller units to assume equal angular positions about the pivot shafts .16, and such means may comprise an arcuate seg: rnent 21 formed with spaced holes through which the ends of the pins 18a through 18111 can freely project. The segment 21 can be locked in an adjusted position with respect to the arcuate support 15 by a Wing nut 21a engaging a threaded hole in the side of member 15 and cooperating with an elongated slot in segment 21.

In operation, it will be understood that when the take up drum 4 is rotated to exert a draft force on each element 14 as earlier described, such draft force will be manifest as a radial inward pressure exerted by the wire element .14 against the rollers 19a through 1%. The rollers are driven in rotation about the pins 18a through 1812. Moreover, the rotation of the element 14 about its axis applies a frictional force to the rollers, and this force owing to the offset present between its point of application and the axis of each radial pivot 16, due to the inclined legs of the clevis 17, creates a moment of rotation about the pivot 16. It can be shown that in and, in such cases, it is preferred to use nut 21a to lock the segment 21 in a position in which it causes all the roller supports 17 to assume a predetermined orientation angle a, computed in dependency on the desired feed and angular or rotational velocities (and the diameter of the element), in order thus to achieve in a more positive manner the desired twist-free condition of the elerncnt M. It will be apparent that, in such cases where r the angular rotation of the roller supports is deliberately respect to each of the end rollers 1% and 1912 of the series, this moment results in rotating the related clevis supports 11-711 and 17n by an angle 06, as measured between the axis of rotation of the roller 19 and the direction of feed of element 14, such that cotan diameter of element 14 pitehlength of cable said pitch length being the ratio of the linear velocity of the wire to the angular velocity of its rotation. Owing to the provision of the coupling segment 21, all the rollers of the series are constrained to rotate about their pivots by a similar angle and, in this rotated condition of all the roller supports about their radial pivots, with the Wire or rope element 14 engaging the rollers at points displaced sideways from the axial midpoint thereof, it is found that said element 14 is entirely free from any torsion ortwist' as it moves over the deflector device.

In most cases, it is desirable to leave the locking nut 21a in its loose condition, and allow the coupling seg-' ment 21 to seek out its own position of equilibrium, in

which all the roller supports 17 are simultaneously. rotated about their pivots by angles determined by the feed velocity and rotational velocity of the wire element 14, as just described. However, especially With'relatively large deflection angles imparted to the path of the wire, such automatic operation-may not be entirely reliable fixed rather than being automatically induced bythe rotational friction of the wire element, the a-boveanentioned displacement or offset between the axis of pivot 16 and the area of contact of the element with the roller 19, as provided by the inclined clevis legs, becomes unnecessary and the roller supports may then be made straight rather than slanting. Also, the counterweights 2% may then be omitted.

Various other modifications may be conceived Within the scope of the invention. Thus, instead of using the concave single rollers 19 disclosed above, paired rollers can be used as shown in FIGURE 5. As shown, the two rollers 22a, 22b of each pair are cylindrical and are mounted on pins 23a, 23b projecting from supports 24a, 24b mounted on pivots 25a, 25b extending through the arcuate member 15 in generally radial planes thereof. The pivots 25a, 25b extend at right angles to each other being angul-arly displaced 45 to opposite sides from a central longitudinal plane of the member 15, and the same is true of the pins 23a, 23b, so that the rollers 22a, 22b define in projection on a transverse plane, as shown in FIGURE 5, a. V for cradling the element 14 between them. It can readily be seen that the general operation of this modification is the same as in the first form, with the frictional forces developed by the rotation of element 14 creating couples which tend to rotate the supports 24a, 24b in corresponding directions, by angles depending on the winding pitch length or ratio of linear to angular velocity of the element (and diameter thereof), and that in the rotated positions the element 15 is substantially torsion-free.

What I claim is:

1. A device for deflecting the path of a continuous flexible element which is simultaneously fed longitudinally along said path and rotated about its longitudinal axis, which device comprises a stationary arcuate supporting member corresponding in arcuate extent to the angle by which said path is to be deflected, a series of roller supports spaced along the length of the arcuate member, and mounted on the arcuate member for pivotal movement about axes extending in generally radial planes of said member, and rollers mounted on said supports for free rotation about axes generally transverse to the first axes, said rollers being engageable by said flexible element.

2. In a system having means for feeding a continuous flexible element over a longitudinal path and simulta neously rotating the flexible element about its longitudinal axis, a device for deflecting the path of the element comprising a stationary arcuate supporting member; a series of roller supports spaced along the member and mounted for pivotal movement about axes extending in generally radial planes of the member; rollers mounted on said supports for free rotation about axes generally normal to said first axes and engage'ableby said flexible element, and means coupling said roller supports to constrain them to assume corresponding angular positions about said first axes.

3. The device claimed in claim 1, wherein said roller supports are arranged so that the point of engagement of each roller by said flexible element is offset from the pivotal axis of the roller support.

4. In a system having means for feeding a continuous flexible element over a longitudinal path and simultaneously rotating the flexible element about its longitudinal axis, a device for deflecting said path comprising a stationary arcuate member; a series of roller supports spaced along the member and mounted on the arcuate member for pivotal movement about radial axes intersecting the members centre of curvature; and rollers mounted on said supports for rotation about axes normal to said radial axes, and having generally concave profiles for cradling engagement with said flexible element.

5. The device claimed in claim 4, wherein said roller supports include clevis-like portions with spaced legs across which said rollers are mounted for rotation about said second-mentioned axes.

6. The device claimed in claim 5, wherein said legs are inclined so that the axis of roller rotation is oflset from the pivotal axis of the support.

7. The device claimed in claim 1, wherein said rollers are provided in pairs, the rollers in each pair being mounted for rotation about respective axes symmetrically angularly displaced to opposite sides from the general plane of said supporting member so as to form a V in which said flexible element is cradled.

8. The device claimed in claim 7, wherein the supports of the respective rollers of each pair are pivoted to said supporting member about axes respectively normal to said roller axes and correspondingly angularly displaced from said general plane.

9. The device claimed in claim 2, wherein said coupling means comprises an arcuate coupling member formed with spaced means along its length for engagement with the respective roller supports.

10. The device claimed in claim 9, comprising means for locking said coupling member in a predetermined position relative to the supporting member.

11. The device claimed in claim 3, including counterweight means on said roller supports for balancing the weight of the offset rollers.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,150,151 8/15 Scanlan 57-59 1,275,887 8/18 Finnell 242-157 2,877,620 3/59 Blaisdell 57-59 X 2,926,001 2/60 Mack et a1 242-157 X FOREIGN PATENTS 550,585 9/56 Belgium.

425,328 9/47 Italy.

498,227 9/54 Italy.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DEVICE OF DEFLECTING THE PATH OF A CONTINUOUS FLEXIBLE ELEMENT WHICH IS SIMULTANEOUSLY FED LONGITUDINALLY ALONG SAID PATH AND ROTATED ABOUT ITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS, WHICH DEVICE COMPRISES A STATIONARY ARCUATE SUPPORTING MEMBER CORRESPONDING IN ARCUATE EXTENT TO THE ANGLE BY WHICH SAID PATH IS TO BE DEFLECTED, A SERIES OF ROLLER SUPPORTS SPACED ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE ARCUATE MEMBER, AND MOUNTED ON THE ARCUATE MEMBER FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT ABOUT AXES EXTENDING IN GENERALLY RADIAL PLANES OF SAID MEMBER, AND ROLLERS MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORTS FOR FREE ROTATION ABOUT AXES GENERALLY TRANSVERSE TO THE FIRST AXES, SAID ROLLERS BEING ENGAGEABLE BY SAID FLEXIBLE ELEMENT. 